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Rex

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This article is about the protagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. For the mech from Metal Gear, see Metal Gear REX.
"Rex" redirects here. For the smasher of the same name, see Smasher:Rex.
Rex
Rex.png
XenobladeSymbol.svg

Official artwork of Rex from
Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Universe Xenoblade Chronicles
Debut Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (2017)
Smash Bros. appearances Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (2023)
Console/platform of origin Nintendo Switch
Species Leftherian
Gender Male
Place of origin Leftherian Archipelago
Created by Masatsugu Saitō
English voice actor Al Weaver
Japanese voice actor Hiro Shimono
Article on Xeno Series Wiki Rex

Rex (レックス, Rex) is the main protagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Origin[edit]

Rex with Azurda in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Rex is a 15-year-old salvager from Letheria who lives on a Titan named Azurda, who he refers to as "Gramps". He unwisely takes on a high-paying mission to help a group of mysterious individuals looking for specifically Leftherian help with searching for a great treasure. They succeed in dredging up an Ancient Ship, aboard which is their target, a legendary Blade caled the Aegis. Rex foolishly touches the red sword, so the group's leader Jin immediately kills him, and the group's muscle Malos prepares to kill the rest of the salvagers to cover their tracks. Rex then finds himself in a dream of Elysium, the fabled paradise atop the World Tree he and many others want to visit, and meets with Pyra, the personification of the Aegis. She says they've been bonded, and she can revive him as her Driver and thus wielder of the legendary sword, so she can return to the real Elysium. Rex agrees, and together with the defecting Nia and Dromarch, escape the now-villainous group. In the process, Azurda is wounded, and manages to regenrate himself into a larval form that tags along inside Rex's helmet. Rex makes it his goal to bring Pyra to Elysium at any cost.

As the party travels, Rex encounters Jin and Malos several times, as they try to capture Pyra for their own reasons. This results in revealing Mythra, the original form of the Aegis, who created the alternate personality of Pyra in shame for her actions in the war five hundred years ago. Eventually, Rex connects with both Pyra and Mythra well enough that their trust produces a third form, Pneuma, who is able to bestow Rex with additional "Master Driver" powers over Blades and the world at large.

In the course of his adventure, Rex becomes the figurehead of his party of paradise-seekers, each with their own reasons for following him and his optimistic goal. He starts out fairly naïve and all too confident in himself to solve every problem, but eventually learns that he can't do everything and must leave something up to others.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

As a moveset element[edit]

Rex assisting with Pyra's Final Smash.

Rex appears as part of Pyra and Mythra's Final Smashes, where he aids them with their respective moves for the duration of the Final Smash; uniquely among assist characters in such a role, Rex's eyes will also glow when Pyra and Mythra have their Final Smash charged, as well as while assisting them in the attack. Rex also appears in their up taunts, on-screen appearance, and two of each of their victory poses. Unlike other taunts that spawn separate character models, Rex's model and animation in Pyra and Mythra's up taunts is completely independent of them, being unaffected by status changes such as Giant or Slow and persisting even when the taunt is canceled or they are attacked.

According to Sakurai, the development team considered having Rex fighting alongside Pyra and Mythra, but this was decided against due to the difficulty the team had with the Ice Climbers in contexts such as 8-Player Smash. Sakurai specifically cited the far more complicated design and abilities of Pyra and Mythra compared to the relatively simple appearance and moveset of the Ice Climbers.[1] Another issue was getting both characters to move at the same time which the development team found was impossible to do; similarly, it was deemed too difficult to implement Rex as the main fighter with Pyra behind him. This ultimately led to Rex being reduced to a smaller supportive role and Mythra being included along with Pyra with the two being able to swap instead.[2]

As a costume[edit]

Rex set for Mii Swordfighter, featuring Azurda.

Rex was considered for the initial roster alongside other prospective characters like a character from ARMS, and Pokémon's Decidueye; however, he could not be added due to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 being announced after character planning finished in 2016. As an offered alternative, Rex appears as a costume for the Mii Swordfighter. Azurda (otherwise known as Gramps) in his miniature companion form appears in the set's outfit. The costume comes as a free bonus with purchase of the Fighters Pass Vol. 1.

Other[edit]

Rex is seen in Pyra and Mythra's reveal trailer, searching for a seemingly missing Pyra. When he finds her on Final Destination, she reveals that she was chosen for Smash over him, much to his surprise. He later goes on to provide commentary in awe of Pyra and Mythra's fighting prowess and eagerly hops in to conduct their Final Smash.

Spirits[edit]

Rex also appears as two different primary spirits.

In Adventure Mode: World of Light, Rex is presumably one of the countless spirits captured by Galeem during his takeover of the universe. After Galeem's defeat, Dharkon takes control of Galeem's spirits, including Rex. Rex's spirit is located in the Sacred Land sub-dungeon of The Dark Realm.

Rex uses a Shulk puppet fighter and is fought on the Kongo Falls stage's Ω form. If the player has already purchased the Pyra/Mythra Challenger Pack, Rex is fought on the Cloud Sea of Alrest stage's Ω form instead. He is also fought along a Lucina puppet fighter representing Pyra. During the battle, Shulk starts off with a Fire Bar and the floor is lava, referencing how Pyra is a Fire Blade with the ability to engulf the battlefield in flames. If the player has already purchased the Pyra/Mythra Challenger Pack then the Lava Floor hazard is not applicable.

Originally, the Rex spirit had no additional effects. However, with the release of update version 11.0.0, Rex's spirit can be enhanced at level 99 into his Master Driver form from later chapters of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. This is the first time a spirit in the base game was given the ability to enhance, or had their ability changed in the game's postlaunch.

No. Image Name Type Class Slots Base Power Max Power Base Attack Max Attack Base Defense Max Defense Ability Series
966
SSBU spirit Rex.png
Rex
Shield
★★★ 3 2934 8825 1394 4192 1540 4633 Can be Enhanced at Lv. 99 Xenoblade Chronicles Series
1,460
SSBU spirit Rex (Master Driver).png
Rex (Master Driver)
Shield
★★★★ 3 4483 11881 2174 5436 2309 5773 Critical-Health Stats ↑ Xenoblade Chronicles Series

Gallery[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name
Japan Japanese レックス, Rex
UK English Rex
France French Rex
Germany German Rex
Spain Spanish Rex
Italy Italian Rex
China Chinese (Simplified) 莱克斯, Rex
Taiwan Chinese (Traditional) 雷克斯, Rex
South Korea Korean 렉스, Rex
Netherlands Dutch Rex
Russia Russian Рекс

Trivia[edit]

  • Like Creeper and Arsene, Rex has an internal codename. However, unlike those two, Rex essentially has two codenames, that being "diver" and "element". "diver" referencing his job as a salvager and "element" being a generic word most likely to describe Pyra and Mythra's powers, that being fire and light respectively.
    • Rex is referred to "element" in a folder containing his model, and is referred to as "diver" with his actual model. "element" is also the codename for Pyra & Mythra's victory theme, and the duo's codename when they are a pair.

References[edit]